7 Day Cruise with No ports of call ?

[Shmoo here]

Ocean crossings often have more than 7 days with no ports. I'm booked on a Windstar Pacific crossing that has 3 ports at the beginning and then no ports for 8+ days. (+ because crossing the date line adds most of another day.) They have Atlantic crossings that are 13 to 14 days with no intermediate ports. The ocean crossing cost a lot less per night than the other cruises.

 

My previous cruises have been all about the ports so this will be a different experience for me.

Who has 13-14 day Atlantic crossings with no intermediate ports? Do you mean the whole cruise is 13-14 days with, say, 5-6 or 7 days with no ports in the middle?

[NMLady]

YES I would, if it wasn't illegal for the cruise lines to offer these KNOWINGLY from USA departure ports.

 

Actually they could be offered from California coastal ports if it were a closed loop cruise and stopped, even very briefly, at Ensenada, even if it were just long enough for paperwork exchange and not long enough for passengers to disembark.

[NMLady]

Who has 13-14 day Atlantic crossings with no intermediate ports? Do you mean the whole cruise is 13-14 days with, say, 5-6 or 7 days with no ports in the middle?

 

Usually the ta's are 12-14 days with one port stop about halfway. But if the crossing does not stop at madeira or at Azores, yes it COULD be 13-14 days with NO port.

 

On one of our ta's we were on Northern crossing with a scheduled stop in Azores but because of hurricane force winds we were re-routed to southern route, skipping the Azores port, ending up with 12 sea days in a row. Heaven!

[NMLady]

Instead of hoping for a hurricane, you could just stay on the ship :) I've stayed on the ship during some port days (mostly Nassau haha) and it's been quite enjoyable, less people at the pools!

....

 

Staying on the ship in port isn't the same as sea day. We've done it in a few ports. In port the dining room usually is not open for lunch, the casino is not open, the shops are not open, there are fewer scheduled activities and those usually have very few participants, often only one or two others.

There are a few other differences too.

The only plus is few people at the pool.

[Shmoo here]

Actually they could be offered from California coastal ports if it were a closed loop cruise and stopped, even very briefly, at Ensenada, even if it were just long enough for paperwork exchange and not long enough for passengers to disembark.

I believe that loophole was closed. They have to stop for a minimum specified time (like 4 hours?) and allow passengers to debark.

[new_cruiser]

Who has 13-14 day Atlantic crossings with no intermediate ports? Do you mean the whole cruise is 13-14 days with, say, 5-6 or 7 days with no ports in the middle?

Windstar does. The only ports are embarkation and debarkation.

[robthens]

YES ..... when we first started cruising, our focus was on the ports. Now we enjoy the "at sea" days.

[NMLady]

I believe that loophole was closed. They have to stop for a minimum specified time (like 4 hours?) and allow passengers to debark.

 

Really? Since when? On our roundtrip San Diego Hawaii cruise that wasn't true. No debarking for passengers.

[Shmoo here]

Really? Since when? On our roundtrip San Diego Hawaii cruise that wasn't true. No debarking for passengers.

I could be wrong. But I thought I read it "somewhere" ;p

[benanjerry]

Yes, sign me up. Love, love , love sea days!

[sail7seas]

Windstar does. The only ports are embarkation and debarkation.

 

 

Windstar does not call at any U.S. p;orts, do they?

[marco]

Yep!.. We've taken a winter Caribbean cruise every winter for over the past 30 yrs. The last 3 or 4 years, I don't even get off the ship. However, the best days are when the ship is in port and just about everyone else is off. A theoretical question, though as as a previous poster mentioned, cruises to "no where are no longer legal. (Don't know why) That's why NCL no longer does the 1 or 2 day cruises to nowhere out of NYC, though they were VERY popular.

[squick64]

That would depend on the ship and so on. I mean, yes to any such cruise if the price is good enough, but definitely yes if the ship is good. Are there activities? A good pool? Good shows? Lots of good restaurants?

[new_cruiser]

Windstar does not call at any U.S. p;orts, do they?

 

Sure they do. San Juan, Puerto Rico is a US port. So are the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Next season they are returning to Alaska, where they haven't sailed for some years with Vancouver to Seward, Seward to Vancouver and round-trip Vancouver trips. They have some great itineraries there going places that the mainstream lines big ships can't go including Kenai Fjords, Misty Fjords and some unusual ports. The transit back to Japan at the end of the season even hits some Aleutian island ports. I'll be on the cruise from Japan to Seward b2b with the first Alaska cruise.

 

Did you mean the contiguous US? Star Pride goes from Reykjavik to New York followed by sailings between New York or Boston and Montreal.

Edited September 28, 2017 by new_cruiser

[new_cruiser]

Yep!.. We've taken a winter Caribbean cruise every winter for over the past 30 yrs. The last 3 or 4 years, I don't even get off the ship. However, the best days are when the ship is in port and just about everyone else is off. A theoretical question, though as as a previous poster mentioned, cruises to "no where are no longer legal. (Don't know why) That's why NCL no longer does the 1 or 2 day cruises to nowhere out of NYC, though they were VERY popular.

 

US regulations require that round trip cruises for foreign ships stop at a near-by foreign port. That's why round trip cruises to Alaska from Seattle stop in a Canadian port - usually Victoria. A cruise to nowhere wouldn't meet that requirement.

 

If the ship was US with a US crew, it could do a cruise to nowhere.

 

If the foreign ship's cruise starts and ends in different US ports, it has to visit a distant foreign port.

 

This is due to regulations for passenger ships that are similar to the Jones Act for cargo ships (which has been in the news recently because it is being suspended to help with Puerto Rico relief).

[rkacruiser]

The President has suspended the Jones Act to help the relief effort for Puerto Rico. If such were done for the cruise industry as well, cruises on a No Where itinerary would surely be possible. Many of the new ships are, indeed, destinations unto themselves. Would I be interested in such an itinerary? YES!

[jocap]

Yes, I go on the round trip UK-Caribbean- UK for the 18 sea days, and hardly leave the ship on the 8 islands... husband goes for the snorkelling, but I'm not interested in sun, sea and sand. I do enjoy Madeira and the Azores on the voyages out and back, though.

[NMLady]

I could be wrong. But I thought I read it "somewhere" ;p

 

You might be right for ships that haven't stopped at a port. We had four port stops in Hawaii before the sea days and brief stop in Ensenada.

[Shmoo here]

The President has suspended the Jones Act to help the relief effort for Puerto Rico. If such were done for the cruise industry as well, cruises on a No Where itinerary would surely be possible. Many of the new ships are, indeed, destinations unto themselves. Would I be interested in such an itinerary? YES!

The PVSA already has a waiver for cruise ships starting or ending a cruise in Puerto Rico. A one way cruise into or out of Puerto Rico is not required to go to a distant foreign port. The exact wording:

EXCEPTIONS

Transportation of Passengers Between Puerto Rico and Other U.S. Ports—46 U.S.C.§ 55104

An exception to the PVSA permits non-coastwise-qualified vessels (vessels notqualified to engage in the coastwise trade) to transport passengers on voyages betweenports in Puerto Rico and other U.S. ports until qualified U.S. vessels are available.

 

The reason cruises to nowhere were deemed illegal was mostly because it was decided, since the cruise was operating out of a US location (with no foreign port of call anywhere), they had to abide by US work laws. Including unions, pay scales, work hours.

[davekathy]

In light of the devastation to some carribean islands, if they offered you a 7 day "At Sea" cruise, would you take it ?

 

Nope...(n)

[sail7seas]

Sure they do. San Juan, Puerto Rico is a US port. So are the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Next season they are returning to Alaska, where they haven't sailed for some years with Vancouver to Seward, Seward to Vancouver and round-trip Vancouver trips. They have some great itineraries there going places that the mainstream lines big ships can't go including Kenai Fjords, Misty Fjords and some unusual ports. The transit back to Japan at the end of the season even hits some Aleutian island ports. I'll be on the cruise from Japan to Seward b2b with the first Alaska cruise. Good to hear they are retuurning to those . jU.S. port.s i think it has been a long time since.

 

Did you mean the contiguous US? ( I mean what I wrote. - U.S. ports, contigous or not ) Star Pride goes from Reykjavik to New York followed by sailings between New York or Boston and Montreal.[/quot ] i AM speechless to read this and when I get to it will research. When I get to researching, I will be interested to see if any windstar shp has had a SPH Inspection at one of the .S. ports youu say tthey call at. I live ju st outside of Boston and had I know n a Windstar ship was here, I wold have tried to see her.

 

 

I did not think Windstar calls at San JUan or St. Thomas though I DO of course , KNOW they are . U.S. ports :cool: . I have been at both of those ports so many times an do not rcall ever seing W indstar in either or heard of anyone who sailed there with them. Never saw tthem in Florida ports. embarking or disembarfkinng though I have seen that at Barbados.

Edited September 29, 2017 by sail7seas